Grumpiness leads to happy ending at Barnham school

MR GRUMPY was a winner for a team of student speakers from St Philip Howard Catholic High School in Barnham.

He was the subject of the speech by the sixth form students on the effect of grumpiness and pessimism on daily life. They discussed the importance of the balance between being overly gloomly and excessively optimistic and convincingly argued that Britain’s ability to pinpoint problems and ask questions had led to constant improvements.

Lauren Phillips, who was chairwoman, Lucky Brookes, the main speaker, and Ella Fleetwood, who gave the vote of thanks, impressed the judges at the Rotary Club Youth Speaks competition.

Lucy said: “Public speaking has definitely improved many aspects of my communication – both written and spoken. It gives young people an opportunity to work on eloquence and performance skills, which in turn boosts confidence.”